19th-century American silver can be hard to date, but this regal Renaissance Revival water pitcher, marked by leading Baltimore silversmith Samuel Kirk, also bears the mark “F,” indicating that it was assayed by the City of Baltimore sometime between 1835 and 1843. Testifying to an ongoing conversation between European classical ornament and American art, the pitcher features a hand-hammered body joined to a cast handle. Distinctive raised ornament – a technique so often associated with Baltimore silver that it bears the nickname “Baltimore repoussé” – imparts a lively richness to the shimmering surface. In a city known for silver manufacture, Samuel Kirk (1793-1872) would rise to dominate the industry. He arrived in Baltimore in 1815, and by the time the BMA’s silver pitcher was made, he had become Maryland’s leading silver maker, enjoying an extensive list of well-heeled clients scattered throughout the United States. By assigning the pattern name “Gilmor” to this pitcher, his appropriated celebrity, associating its silver with Robert Gilmor, Jr., a famous Baltimore collector.